WIRE REPORT
CHARLOTTE COUNTY -Former UF first baseman Matt LaPorta's incredible summer hit a new high on Wednesday as USA Baseball named the former Charlotte High School standout to the U.S. Olympic baseball team.
LaPorta, who was traded last week from the Milwaukee Brewers organization to the Cleveland Indians organization, will be one of four outfielders on the Olympic team, which will leave on Aug. 4 for Beijing, China, after three exhibition games in Cary, N.C.
The roster for the club must be set by July 22. One more player will be added to the 24-man roster. Any player not on a major league 25-man roster was eligible for selection.
So LaPorta joins a team heavy on minor leaguers and top prospects. LaPorta is coming off a solid performance at the MLB Futures game last Sunday at Yankee Stadium, during which he had one of the USA team's three hits in a 3-0 loss to the World team. Afterward, he talked about the possibility of playing in the Olympics.
"Just the chance to represent my country and bring back a gold medal, it would mean so much," LaPorta said "It's been crazy, a roller-coaster ride up and down. The last two weeks just haven't stopped. One day you think you can catch your breath, then something else happens."
LaPorta was the Brewers' first-round pick last year and has put together an eye-popping season in the minor leagues. LaPorta is hitting .292 with 21 home runs and 70 RBIs this season, and his work with the Brewers' Double A affiliate in Huntsville (Ala.) in the Southern League earned him a Southern League All-Star berth.
He's already hitting .375 in Akron, the Indians' Double A affiliate, with a home run and 4 RBIs in just 16 at-bats.
At least one former baseball executive expected LaPorta to make a big impact on the international stage.
"You're going to look at him in the three, four or five holes in the Olympic lineup," said former Baltimore Orioles general manager Jim Duquette.
High expectations are attached to this Olympic team. The U.S. won the gold medal in 2000 before missing the 2004 games. The U.S. has won the last two major international competitions - the 2006 COPABE Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2007 World Cup. Both times, the U.S. defeated Cuba, considered international baseball's powerhouse team, to win the gold.
